Workspace and transcript selections now flow into the composer as lightweight references so users can carry exact snippets into the next prompt without file-only workarounds. The prompt formatter keeps workspace and chat excerpts separate, and the composer avoids sending chat snippets as fake file attachments.
Constraint: Selection references must prepare model context without polluting backend file attachment payloads.
Rejected: Reuse file attachments for chat selections | would leak chat:// pseudo paths into file-oriented payloads.
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep chat-selection references prompt-only unless the backend gains a first-class chat context attachment type.
Tested: bun run check:desktop
Tested: bun run verify
Tested: agent-browser UI smoke for workspace, user-message, and assistant-message selections
Not-tested: Strict Chrome extension channel; connection timed out, local browser automation covered the flow.
PR 217 combined OpenAI OAuth model options with env-configured provider models, but the picker path returned before appending third-party model aliases. The desktop workspace test also exercised Prism highlighting for every expanded line, which was costly enough to time out on CI runners. The docs job did not need the root React Vite plugin; the desktop package owns that dependency.\n\nConstraint: PR Quality must pass server, desktop, and docs jobs before merge.\nRejected: Increase Vitest timeout | keeps the expensive render path and hides the CI regression.\nRejected: Add root Vite 8 peer dependencies | root only builds VitePress docs; React Vite plugin belongs in desktop/.\nConfidence: high\nScope-risk: narrow\nTested: npm ci --ignore-scripts; npm run docs:build; bun test src/server/__tests__/settings.test.ts src/server/__tests__/conversation-service.test.ts; bun run check:server; bun run check:desktop\nNot-tested: live provider OAuth login
The desktop workspace panel and chat transcript were mixing project-level file state with per-turn session history, which made rewind, file attachment, and changed-file previews brittle across multi-turn and historical sessions. This keeps turn checkpoints durable in the transcript, makes workspace refreshes happen at the right lifecycle points, and hardens long file previews without blocking the UI.
Constraint: Right-side workspace changes are project working-tree state, while chat turn cards are session checkpoint state.
Rejected: Treat every changed-file panel entry as session-local | new sessions must still reveal existing dirty project files.
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Do not couple global workspace status to session checkpoint cards without preserving both product meanings.
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test src/components/workspace/WorkspacePanel.test.tsx
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: git diff --check
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test
Not-tested: Packaged Tauri runtime smoke test
The workspace panel now treats an empty changed-files status as a browsing case, so opening the panel shows the project tree instead of an empty changed-files view. The panel header controls were also reduced to keep the right workspace rail visually proportional in compact layouts.
Constraint: Users still need to manually inspect the empty changed-files view when they explicitly choose it.
Rejected: Always render the empty changed-files state | it makes the opened workspace feel broken when no files changed.
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: narrow
Directive: Do not auto-switch the workspace view after a user has explicitly selected a workspace view.
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test -- src/components/workspace/WorkspacePanel.test.tsx src/stores/workspacePanelStore.test.ts
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: cd desktop && bun run build
Not-tested: Browser E2E visual screenshot pass was not rerun for this small header sizing change.
Workspace inspection now shares the same diff renderer between chat change cards and panel previews, supports scoped preview-tab closing, confirms checkpoint undo, resolves rewind checkpoints from the prompt cwd, and removes light-only workspace chrome so dark theme remains coherent.
Constraint: Workspace review must keep working for existing transcript sessions and non-git session-derived changes.
Rejected: Keep a separate chat diff preview | it drifted from panel rendering and dark theme behavior.
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep chat and workspace diff rendering shared so theme and truncation behavior do not diverge again.
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test -- src/components/workspace/WorkspacePanel.test.tsx src/components/chat/MessageList.test.tsx src/stores/workspacePanelStore.test.ts
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: cd desktop && bun run build
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/sessions.test.ts
Tested: Browser dark workspace preview at http://127.0.0.1:59468/ with src/App.jsx diff
Not-tested: macOS packaged app build
Workspace file preview is a local desktop surface, so image files should not be blocked by the text preview byte cap. Large text files now return a bounded preview instead of an unusable too-large state, while binary files remain explicitly unsupported.
Constraint: Avoid unbounded text payloads that can freeze the desktop renderer
Rejected: Remove all read limits | large generated files can still overload JSON transport and syntax rendering
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep image preview detection before text-size limiting so local images remain renderable
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/workspace-service.test.ts
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/sessions.test.ts
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test -- src/components/workspace/WorkspacePanel.test.tsx
Tested: cd desktop && bun run build
Not-tested: Full packaged macOS smoke after this commit
Workspace inspection was visible only as a side panel, while file restore still lived behind the older per-message rewind affordance. This adds a chat-flow change card for the completed turn, keeps undo routed through checkpoint rewind, and tightens the workspace split layout so narrow and fullscreen windows keep both chat and file preview usable.
Constraint: Current session file changes must work for non-Git directories when transcript tool edits are available
Constraint: Workspace preview must remain right-docked without horizontal overflow across narrow and wide desktop viewports
Rejected: Keep only hover rewind | users could not clearly see what the current turn changed before undoing it
Rejected: Use Git as the only changed-file source | many desktop sessions run in temporary or non-Git directories
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep checkpoint rewind as the source of truth for undo semantics; workspace diffs are a preview surface, not the restore authority
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/sessions.test.ts src/server/__tests__/workspace-service.test.ts
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test -- src/components/chat/MessageList.test.tsx src/components/workspace/WorkspacePanel.test.tsx src/stores/workspacePanelStore.test.ts src/pages/ActiveSession.test.tsx
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: cd desktop && bun run build
Tested: bun /tmp/cc-haha-layout-e2e/run-layout-e2e.mjs
Not-tested: Native Tauri packaged app window chrome behavior
Expose a workspace inspector for desktop sessions so users can browse the active project, preview files, inspect session-derived changes, and review diffs even when the work directory is not a git repository.
Constraint: The workspace view must work for temporary and non-git project directories.
Rejected: Rely only on git status | non-git sessions would lose the changed-files surface.
Confidence: medium
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep undo semantics separate from workspace browsing; checkpoint-backed rewind should remain the source of truth for rollback.
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/sessions.test.ts src/server/__tests__/workspace-service.test.ts
Tested: cd desktop && bun run test -- src/components/workspace/WorkspacePanel.test.tsx src/stores/workspacePanelStore.test.ts
Tested: cd desktop && bun run lint
Tested: git diff --check
Not-tested: Full desktop packaged app build after this commit
